


Lives Rewritten

by Dearieforever



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 20:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14316342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearieforever/pseuds/Dearieforever





	Lives Rewritten

It had been a beautiful honeymoon for Rumple and Belle as they stayed in the abandoned house. They'd spent hours dancing, and otherwise enjoying being man and wife. Never in his centuries since becoming the Dark One had Rumple been so completely happy. He would have been perfectly happy except for two things. He was still cursed, for one. He didn't want to think about the second reason he could never be perfectly happy again. The best he could do was go on living with that, and start his life with Belle.

Even though sleep was optional for Dark Ones, he enjoyed sleeping and waking up with Belle beside him. This morning though, he'd woken up alone. Belle must have gotten up early and explored the house a bit. He was sure she hadn't left. Still, with a new villain on the loose every week, he was uneasy not knowing exactly where she was. He got up and went looking for her, checking the house's library. Sure enough, she was curled up in a chair looking at a book. She smiled up at him hearing him come in.

“Rumple look at this.”

She handed him a book that seemed like a copy of Henry's. When he flipped through it though, Rumple saw the stories did not match up. 

“The shelves are filled with books just like these Each one tells the stories differently though. “

Rumple thought on that.

“Someone had to have written Henry's book. Whoever it was, must have written different versions. Or perhaps-”

“Perhaps there's more than one Author?” Belle guessed what he was thinking.

It was an intriguing notion, but there was another idea behind it. Rumple thought of it sometimes in the following days. He was preparing to take Belle on a real honeymoon and show her the world the way she'd always dreamed of, but a second plan was forming. What if there was someone behind all the Authors? What if he could find the Author in charge of the world he knew? When the curse had been cast and they'd come to this world, had they perhaps come through the book? 

If that was true, was it possible one of the books was some sort of portal? He'd done enough research with portals while trying to reach Bae. If any of the books was one, he felt sure he could use it to find the Author. And books that were unfinished could have their plots changed. Maybe- just maybe- there was a slight chance he could convince the Author to change what had happened to Bae. 

No matter how slim the chance, he had to take it. Magic could not bring back the dead. He knew that. Yet Henry's book was not finished. If the story he was living had not been finalized-. Perhaps he was hoping only to have his heart broken again, but he couldn't live with himself if there was even the slightest chance and he didn't take it.

For months, Rumple used every spell he knew and every device he had to study the books in that house. Finally, he touched a page- and his hand went through.

Now he knew the book could transport him. But where? Back to the Enchanted Forest? To the world the Author lived in? Belle had begun to worry about him, guessing he was working on something. She was intrigued when she found out what. 

“So you're saying we could leave here, and end up in a completely different realm?” she asked. He nodded. 

“We can pass through one of the books, but I don't know where we'd end up. It would either be the Enchanted Forest, or somewhere we've never been, but where one of the Authors is. Either way, I don't know if we could get back here or not.”

Belle thought about that.

“If we end up in the Enchanted Forest, I wouldn't mind living in the castle again. It's where we first fell in love. If it's somewhere new- I always did want to see new places. But- you might not have magic there.”

Rumple had thought about that too.

“Doesn't matter. I was in that same position once before, and I always told myself that if I had to do it all over again-”

“You'd have gone with Bae,” Belle finished the thought. “And you think this could be a chance to save him?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I've been trying to see the future about this. My visions are usually not complete, but they can guide me. When I see us going through the book- I get a good feeling about it. I don't know if it will give me a way to save Bae, but whatever happens, I think this is the right thing.”

Belle took his hand and then kissed him.

“Whatever is through that book, we'll face it together.”

Rumple held her a moment, kissing her back. They had each other. He could face anything as long as she was with him. He wasn't afraid of whatever the realm they would enter held.

The day after he'd told her his plan, they were packed and ready to leave Storybrooke, maybe forever.  
A few people told Belle they would be sorry to see her go. She noticed they hadn't said they'd be sorry to see Rumple gone.

“I don't remember any of you saying anything about missing my husband. None of you thanked him for his sacrifice or offered condolences on the loss of his son either,” she pointed out. Only Archie came to shake Rumple's hand and wish him well. Henry approached his grandpa, looking at him sadly.

“I never really got to know you as my grandpa, but- you did save us. And I know how close you and my dad were. So- hopefully we'll see each other again Grandpa.”

Rumple smiled a bit at that. Part of Bae had been left behind. He hadn't had much time with Henry, but nothing would change Henry being his grandson.

“I'm sure we will.”

Rumple and Belle looked at each other, and shared a deep kiss before going through the book. Belle had started it. Let all of Storybrooke see that she loved her husband. The next thing they knew they were in an office of some kind, and two men were staring at them.

“Adam, are you seeing what I am?” one of the men asked.

“I- I think I am Ed.”

Adam shook his head as he continued to stare. 

“The Dark One? Here? But- we just write him. He isn't real.”

That was all Rumple needed to hear. In half a second he had them both up against the wall at cane point.

“So you two wrote my life the way it's been- had me cripple myself- let Zelena torture me- killed my son!” The last part was nearly a growl.

“Actually technically Zelena killed him,” Edward said, earning a jab in the throat with the cane.

“Well then Dearie, since you're the ones in charge of that world you can undo that. And you will. Now.”

There was more danger in the calm of his voice than if he'd shouted.

“But- But people like Emma with Hook-” Adam whimpered. That got him a hard whack with the cane.

“I don't care who Miss Swan ends up with. You didn't have to kill Bae to have her be with him. Now you bring him back if you want to be around long enough to write anything else.”

Belle watched all this, nearly gasping at the reminder of what Rumple was capable of. But then she remembered all Rumple had suffered and lost.

“Why did you put him through all this?” she asked. “You mentioned what people like. You tortured him- for entertainment?”

“He's the villain. Villains don't get happy endings,” Edward said, as if trying to explain the obvious. Rumple didn't have to use his cane that time. Belle gave Edward a solid slap. 

“Villains don't do the things he's done,” she told them. “He sacrificed himself. He's a hero.”

Rumple was surprised at her. Pleasantly so. He'd never thought Belle could be violent. Yet knowing these two men had played gods with his life had snapped something in her.

“And whatever I am, Bae was a hero. And you are not going to take his happy ending from him,” Rumple warned. Completely terrified now, Adam went to the computer and typed.

Baelfire appeared in the room, alive and well.

No sooner were the words typed than Bae stood before them. He looked confused for a moment, but when he saw his papa and Belle he grinned. It took less time than it takes to draw a breath for Rumple and Bae to embrace.

“You told me you could fix it when I was dying. Looks like I should have believed you. Especially since you always saved me, Papa. So many times.”

Rumple had happy tears in his eyes.

“You're my life son. I couldn't let you be lost.” 

When they separated from their hug, Bae noticed the other two men. Rumple quickly explained who they were.

“So these two are the reason for everything that ever happened to us,” Bae summarized. “Why you were cursed, why we were separated, why we both had to die.”

“All for their perverted idea of entertainment,” Rumple verified.

Now the two so called writers had the entire Stiltskin/Gold family fed up with them. It was tempting to make a list of demands to make up for what they'd done, but in the end only two were necessary. The first was for Rumple's magic to work regardless of the realm they were in, regardless of whether the curse was ever broken or not.

“No need,” Edward admitted. “You were born the Savior. Magic is part of you, no matter what.

Now that angered Rumple. He could have avoided being cursed! He could have avoided everything that ever went wrong for him had he only known he had his own magic. Bae grabbed several of the notebooks laying around, curious what they held.

“Papa you should see this! You wouldn't believe what they had planned for you!” He handed Rumple the notebooks.

“Belle turning against me, Zelena back from the dead, the curse nearly over taking me, my second son put through torture, and Belle dying-” Rumple used his magic to set those particular pages on fire. There was no danger of them happening now. Adam and Edward were properly terrified and looked on the verge of wetting themselves. Ok, now Rumple was angry. Bae held on to the other notebooks. They would learn more about their back stories later. Rumple had something more in mind for now.

The second demand was a magic bean that could be used infinitely so they could travel between realms at will, and so Bae could see Henry as often as he liked. With that, they were prepared to go. Belle and Bae stepped out of the office first.

“Aren't you coming Papa?” Bae asked.

“In just one second son. I want to have a little- discussion with these two.”

Neither Belle nor Bae argued. Instead they left Rumple alone with the two men. Rumple cast a silencing spell so no one could hear the screams. Then he cheerfully stepped out with his wife and son when he'd finished.

From then on, there were no more problems. Belle gave Rumple more children. Bae loved being a big brother, and Henry often came with his father's side of the family on their travels, becoming close with them all. Eventually, Rumple believed in Belle's love for him enough for his curse to finally be broken, a day their family celebrated. A short while later, they met up with Jefferson and Grace. The two families were as good as one, sharing endless years of happy travels. No one ever wrote anything to bring them sorrow again. As to Adam and Edward, two empty snail shells were found in a mound of salt. The mystery of the disappearance of the two men who were once in the office where those shells were found remains unsolved.


End file.
